MR. TAYLOR'S ADDRESS 

ON THE 

rZFTZETH ANS^SVJSaSAlt'Sr 

OF 

AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE, 

AT BALLSTON SFA. 



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AN' 



ADDRESS 



iiELIVERED AT THE CELEBRATION OF.IHfi 



rZFTZETH AZtfNZVSRSARir 



OF THE 



zin>BrBzn>sNCB or tbb vnrzTSd sxatbsi 



IN THE VILLAGE OF BALLSTON SPA. • 



— ■qO^— 

BY JOHN W, tAYLOM^J^--'^^ 

(^ XJ. s. r 



^.BALLSTON SPA: 
PRINTED BY J. COMSTOCK. 

1826« 



Ballston Spa, July 4, 1^2 a 
Sir, i 

In behalf of the citizens of the County of Saratoga assem- 
bled here this day, in Commemoration of oiir National Jubilee, we 
present to you our acknowledgments for your patriotic address, 
and solicit of you the favor of a copy for publication. 
We have the honor to be, 

very respectfully yours, &;c. 'njl 

ANSON BROWN, 
HUGH HAWKINS, 
THOMAS PALMER, 
SAMUEL SMITH, 
SAMUEL FREEMAN, 
L. B. LANGWORTHY, 
JOEL LEE, 
To the Hon. JOHN W. TAYLOR. 



Ballston Spa, July 5, 1826. 
Gbntiemei*, 

A copy of the Address, which incompliance with your 
request, I had the honor to deliver ^yesterday, accompanies this 
note, and it is at your disposal. For its favorable reception, per- 
mit rae through you, to tender to the audience my unfeigned 
thank*. 

With great regard, 

1 am very truly 
; Your ob't serv't, 

JOHN W. TAYLaR, 
To Anson Brown, Hugh Hawking, ' 
Thomas Palmer, Samuel Smith, 
Samuel Freeman, L. B. Lang- 
worthy, and Joel Lee, Esquiresi 






:'&\'\ 



ADDRESS. 



Hiit 



ri!LLo^^-cj;Tiz£:r7s, 

UifiTiNG with the assembled millions who 
this day are worshipping in the temple of Liber- 
ty : — bending before Hi3i who although invisible 
is seen in his glorious works, — who although un- 
searchable is felt in his manifold mercies : — stand- 
ing on an elevation, from which the labors of half 
a century of national existence can be reviewed : 
we are invited to raise our conceptions to the dig- 
nity of the occasion which has called us together. 

The event we commemorate, has strongly mark- 
jed the condition of our country. In her colonial 
state, America was restricted in her commerce, and 
crippled in her manufactures. Her increasing pow- 
er and resources, were viewed with jealousy by the 
British Government. The claim of Parliament, 
to legislate for us in all cases whatever, was ex- 
emplified in the establishment of a revenue system 
without our consent. 



4 

1'he alarm which followed this measure, was 
produced, not by the amount of tax imposed, but 
by the principle it involved. A Congress of dele- 
gates, was held in Philadelphia, in September, 
1774, to consider the actual condition of the colo- 
nies, and the various subjects of difference between 
them and the mother country. These differences 
were increased, by the outrage of the British 
troops at Lexington in April 1775, and the procl?^- 
mation of rebellion, issued by the Court of St. 
James, the August following. After these acts of 
tyranny, all well informed men in America, con- 
sidered independence or slavery the only alterna- 
tives. Shortly after the proclamation was receiv- 
ed in this country, Congress resolved to fit out a 
naval armament, and made the most vigorous ef- 
forts to prepare for the declaration of Independ- 
ence. It was adopted in the form you have heard 
read, the succeeding 4th of July. It was no hasty 
nor inconsiderate step. The great men who an- 
nounced it, well appreciated its incalculable im- 
portance. Their own destiny and that of their 
posterity were staked on the issue To human 
appearance, the approaching contest was not only 
perilous, but awfully desperate. On one side 
stood an infant people, unskilled in war,T— unpro- 
vided with arms, ordnance, or military stores,—- 
unaccustomed to the privations of a camp, — desti- 
tute of revenues to clothe, subsist or pay the re- 



qruits,—- and even without a government to enforce 
obedience to its decrees. On the other side stood 
a nation, confident in her strength, — exulting in 
her victories, and energetic in her government, 
^vhose military prowess and the glory of whose 
ij,rms were corcxtensiyp with tjie earth. 

The peril of the enterprise, was greatly enban- 
ced by the consideration, that many of our own 
people were opposed to the revolution. Some 
from affection to the mother country ; — some from 
regard to office and political power ; and others 
from the apparent hopelesness of our cause, 
sought safety in the impending storm, under the 
protection of Great Britain. No man of this gen- 
eration, can fully estimate the firmness of pur- 
pose, the exalted heroism, which animated the 
souls of our revolutionary patriots. The scale 
of their admeasurement can be formed, only in 
the midst of dangers such as they encountered. 
They doubtless relied, much as man ought to re- 
ly, on stout hearts and strong arms. But their 
chief confidence was not in these. It was, in the 
righteousness of their cause, and in the God of 
battles. To these they appealed ; in these tliey 
trusted.— Spreading their wrongs before the world, 
and invoking the support of heaven, they buckled 
on their armour, determined like iqen to conquer 



6 

or like men to die. Previous to the proclamatioa 
of indGpendence, in two successive years, by or- 
der of Congress, a day of solemn fasting, humili- 
ation and prayer was generally observed through- 
out the colonies. Strengthened by the consolations 
of religion, the public mind acquired a moral force 
>vhich enabled it to brave the worst, while its hopes 
-were the highest. Entering on the conflict, the 
soldier's watch word was God and our Country. 
He fought not for independence alone, but for 
religion and law. Having laid his account with 
danger, it did not appal liim. — Having hardened 
his body by fatigue, it did not subdue him. With 
nerves undisturbed, and with a heart undaunted, 
he endured hunger, cold and imprisonment. Even 
death itself, was not considered by him the great- 
est of evils. When duty demanded, he met it 
with a warrior's arm and a martyr's spirit. In the 
field of battle there is something so animating ; 
something that so sustains to the last, the brave 
man struggling in his country's cause, that if he 
fall, he feels his fall is glorious. For him I ask 
not your commiseration. But there were those, 
for whose fate commiseration is due. — For whose 
sufferings, the tear of sympathy may well mois- 
ten the manly cheek. Overpowered by num- 
bers ; — covered with wound-s ;— -fainting from loss 
of blood ; — they fell into the hands of the enemy. 
Immured in loathsome prisons ; — chained to the 



dying and the dead ; — spurned as traitors ; — de- 
nied as rebels, those rights, which civilized nations 
hold sacred towards prisoners of war ; — when na- 
ked and hungry, insulted by offers of pardon and 
plenty, on condition they would accept his Majes- 
ty's bounty and put on his uniform :-^days, and 
months, and years, passing over their heads, and 
witnessing no other change than the deeper gloom 
of their prison ;^-than their numbers diminished 
by the hand of death ; — than the more frightful 
emaciation of their own wasted bodies ; — their 
prospect of exchange, again and again disappoint- 
ed ; — and their patriotic hopes impaired, by fabri- 
cated news of the disaster of their country's arms ; — 
these complicated sufferings, were too severe for 
men to bear : and yet th^y were borne by soldiers 
of the American army, — by patriots whose love 
of country was so pure, so intense, so disinter- 
ested, that the honors and gold of the British Em-^ 
pire could not corrupt them, could not induce 
them to violate their faith or sully their honor. 

In estimating the price of our Independence, we 
must consider not only the soldier's sufferings in 
the field, and in captivity, but also the keen an- 
guish of a mother's heart — the despairing, unut- 
terable woe which overwhelmed her soul, in the 
consciousness that such was the condition of her 



son— perhaps her only son. And yet Americaii 
matrons, fully aware of these enumerated horrors^ 
in a spirit of devotion to their country surpassing 
example, incited their sons to the field, and en- 
couraged them to the conflict. Selling their orna- 
ments to equip them for the battle, and putting 
arms in their hands. Go, said they, and iise them 
for your country : Go, with a mother's blessing, 
use them like men, and God will give you the 
victory. 



Time would fail me to speak of the war in itg 
progress ; the hardships endured on our north- 
ern frontier : — the conflagrations and massacres 
perpetrated by the savage foe :— the expedition a- 
gainst Quebec under the gallant Montgomery : — • 
the universal mourning for his untimely fall : — thei 
burst of triumph Vv'hich rang through America, at 
the capture ofBurgoyne, on the plains of our own 
Saratoga : — the sufferings of our army, in its peril- 
ous retreat through the Jerseys : — the surrender 
of Cornwallis : — the recognition of our Independ- 
ence by the King Of Great Britain : — and the 
grand exhibition of public virtue, at the close of 
the war, in th^ return by Gen. Washington of his 
commission to Congress. Faithful historians have 
recorded in living lines these interesting events. 
On this occasion, wc can only glance at the prom- 



9 

ment figures in the picture, as we pass to take a 
brief view of our country's advancement, after tho 
acknowledgment of its independeace. 

The want of a national government had been 
severely felt, during the wliole course of the war. 
Its necessity in peace, was not less apparent. Our 
commerce, which the war had destroyed, did not 
revive. No uniform system of revenue existed in 
the states, and Congress had power to establish 
none. If one state laid a duty on the importation 
of foreign merchandize, another, to encourage 
her own trade, admitted it free. The tax on for- 
eign tonnage, varied in different parts of the con- 
federation 200 per cent. States, Avhich in conl- 
mori dansfcr, had sacrificed all selfish considera- 
lions, and stood firm in each others defence, were 
found in peace, indulging jealousies and rival- 
ries of the most injurious nature. Foreign agents 
interfered in our domestic concerns. No ade- 
quate provision was made, to pay the public debt 
or sustain the public credit. The fruits of the 
revolution were in danger of being lost in the ab- 
sence of a general government to preserve them. 
In this condition of our affairs, a convention of del- 
egates from the several states, assembled in Phil- 
adelphia, under the resolution of Congress of Feb. 
1787, and in the autumn of that year, reported, 



m 

under the warm recommendation of Gen. Wash- 
ington, the constitution of the United States. It 
was adopted by the people of the several states, 
" in order to form a more perfect union, establish 
justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the 
common defence, promote the general welfare, and 
secure the blessings of liberty." Under its ad- 
ministration, this country has advanced in popula- 
tion, wealth, and general prosperity, beyond all 
example. 

In 1775, our population Was estimated by Con- 
gress at 2,389,300. In 1820, it was ascertained 
by the census to be 9,687,999. And at this time 
it is not less than 12,000,000 souls. In the Euro- 
pean governments most favorable to human exist- 
ence, the population has not doubled in less than 
one hundred years. In the United States, it doub- 
les in one fourth of that time. 

Fifty years ago, our settlements were confined 
to a narrow strip of country, along the Atlantic 
frontier. They now are extended so far to the 
west, that organized governments are established 
beyond the Mississippi. Since the adoption of 
the constitution, the number of states composing 
the union has nearly doubled, and our political 
power has increased more than fourfold. 



11 

The wealth and resources of our country have 
kept pace with its adyancing population. In 35 
years, our exports have risen in value from 20 to 
99 millions of dollars. -Our revenues derived from 
commerce, which in 1791, ^were ,jjess than seven 
millions of dollars, for several years past have ex- 
ceeded the average suni of twenty millions of dol- 
lars. 



In 1791, the ascertained public deht of the reV" 
olutionary war, was 75 millions, of dollars. Thia 
debt has been paid, principal and interest, with the 
©xceptionof 13 millions, which bears an i»terest 
,of only three per cent per annum. 

•In 1812, after years of patient remonstranae on 
our part, and continued aggression on the part of 
Great Britain, we were again obliged to take up 
arms, in defence of our rights. Our seamen had 
been impressed, and our flag insulted ; our ships 
had been captured and condemned, for the viola- 
tion of pretended blockades : and the common 
highway of nations, was closed against our lawful 
commerce. War, or disgrace, became inevitable. 
We chose the former, audcame outof the conflict, 
with pur honor untarnished,and pur national charac- 
ter elevated. Whatever opinions were for a time en- 



1^ 

tertaincd, by a part of our citizens in regard to the 
War; now that the passions of the day have subsi- 
ded, the deliberate judgment of the whole na- 
tion pronounces it to have been just. Even in 
those states, where resistance to its prosecution 
was the most formidable, the bourse they then 
pursued has been condemned, and their political 
opinions retracted. '' At the close of the war, our 
national debt exceeded 120 millions of dollars.— 
It has been reduced to less than 80 millions, and 
if peace shall continue, it will be wholly extin- 
guished in less than nine years o 

The general prosperity of our country has been 
promoted, by improvements in agriculture ; by the 
successful prosecution of manufactufing industry ; 
and by increased attention to the cause of liter- 
ature and science. • Colleges, academies and com^ 
mon schools have been established, and liberally 
endowed ; and the means of education have been 
rendered cheap and easy of access. The spirit 
of the tim^s is advantageously displayed, in the in- 
creasing regard paid to the culture of the female 
mind. Seminaries for their instruction in the 
higher branches of education, are numerous, and 
well supported. Their influence on the condition 
of civilized society is too beneficent, to escape the 
notice of patriots and statesmen ; too important to. 



13 

be omitted, in ^his general view of our country!s 
prosperity. 

In proceeding to enumerate, on this our Jubi- 
lee, some causes of national gratitude and joy, we 
place in the first rank, the momentous truth, that 
a nation of great arid rapidly increasing strength 
exists upon earth, for an example to mankind, 
where in fact as well as in name Sovereignty re- 
sides in the People. The government, in all its 
(departments is theirs. Its officers are their a- 
gents ; employed to transact their business, deri- 
ving from them all their authority, and amenable 
to them for its faithful exercise. Here no politi- 
cal power, under whatever pretext, can be exert- 
ed, which the People have not granted. This 
sublime principle, is the corner stone of our tem- 
ple of liberty. Ii not only exalts, and dignifies 
the character, of every American citizen, but it 
also imposes upon him duties, of the highest or- 
der. It binds him in the strongest obligations to 
watch the conduct of tjiose, to whom the adminis- 
tration of government is confided. Hence arises 
the vast importance of intelligence, and unceasr 
ing vigilance, in the boc^y of the community. Ig- 
norance, and indifference, are altogether incom- 
patible with the preservation of liberty. Thp 
principles of legitimacy, on the other hand, are 



14 

.diametrically opposed to our free institutions. — 
According to them, " the Monarch is the State." 
He is every thing, and the People nothing. What- 
ever of liberty the subject enjoys, is granted by 
him, and depends on his pleasure for its continu- 
ance. Thus widely different is the condition of a 
citizen in the United States, from that of a sub- 
ject in the despotic governments of the easterji 
hemisphere. 

A second cause of gratitiide and joy, is the suc- 
cess of our confederated representative govern- 
ment. The adaptation of the republican system, 
.under any modification, to so extended a country j; 
embracing so various, and apparently conflicting in- 
terests, was a problem of doubtful solution. It no 
longer remains so. In foreign war ; in the collis- 
ions of party ; in times of faction and violence, no 
less than in periods of peace and tranquility, it has 
proved itself adequate to every emergency. By del- 
egating to one class of representatives the managet 
ment of the foreign relations of the country, and 
other matters purely national ; and to another^ 
the internal and domestic affairs of each state, 
respectability abroad, and liberty at home, 
are happily associated. This division of pow- 
er in the frame of our government, like tjic 



15 

division of labor in manufacturing establish- 
ments, is the secret of success and perfec- 
tion. 



This nation is not only more free, but it is ac- 
tually stronger than it could be, under one con- 
solidated government. The addition of new 
states, by extending its basis ; by enlarging the 
surface on which the efforts of faction are obliged 
to act ; and by multiplying enlightened agents, 
not likely to be affected by the same^exciting caus- 
es ; greatly contributes to the stability of our 
svstem. None can fix limits to its extension. — ■ 
This unmeasured continent in all its breadth, 
with its multiplied millions of freemen, all speak- 
ing the same language, may reposse in safety un- 
der one general government, equally attentive to 
the protection, and defence, of the numerous states 
which shall compose our union. How exhilara- 
ting to a Patriot's heart, is this vision of futurity. 
God has stamped greatness, on the face of our 
Country. He cast it in a mould of signal magnif- 
icence. In population, government, literature, 
arts, and useful inventions, it is destined to occu- 
py a front, if not the first rank upon earth. 

A third cause of gratitude and joy, is our suc- 
cessful experiment of religious liberty. The Uni- 



u 

ied States exhibit to the \iiOY\d the singular arid 
cheering spectacle, ot a nation, with an exalted 
standard of public morals, yet without an estab- 
lished religion ; of a ministry, faithful to its high 
duties, yet dependant for support, on the volunta- 
ry contributions of their congregations ; of a peo- 
ple, professing religious creeds of almost endless 
variety, yet living together in peace and charity. 
In all other governments, civil and ecclesiastical 
affairs, are inore or less united. In the fori;nation 
of oui's, many good men, apprehended the de- 
struction of religion, in the absence of a legal 
support. Experience has dissipated their fears. 
It has proved, that religion flourishes best when 
least controled by civil power, and that errors of 
opinion in it, as well as in politics, " may be tole- 
rated with safety where reason is left free to com- 
bat them." 

A fourth cause of gratitude and joy, is the be- 
nign influence of our example, on the free govern- 
ments of South America. Age after age had wit- 
nessed the degradation, nnd oppression of the 
Sp'.inis'- Colonies. Cut off by their parent state, 
from intercourse, both commercial and political, 
with all other nations ; groaning under a despo- 
tism, as unchanging &;- it was remorseless ; they 
were denied, even the miserable boon, of making 



17 

known their sufferings, to their fellow men. But 
the day of retribution came, and the yoke of the 
oppressor was broken. New nations sprang into 
existence, with numbers and resources, exceeding 
those of this country at the period of our revolu- 
tion. Looking abroad for models of government, 
they embraced with enthusiasm our own princi- 
ples of civil liberty. Animated by the example 
of our signal prosperity, they reasonably may an- 
ticipate results, equally propitious. From the 
commencement of their struggle for liberty, the 
People and Government of the United States, felt 
for them the warmest sympathy. We anxiously 
vi^atched their revolution in its progress, rejoiced 
in the triumph of their arms, and seized the ear- 
liest moment compatible with our neutral duties, 
to recognize their independence — to welcome 
them into the family of nations — -and to establish 
with them relations of amity and commerce. The 
tree of liberty, has taken deep root in this western 
hemisphere. May its branches spread to the 
ends of the earth, and all nations find healing in 
its leaves. Greece ! heroic, classical, christian 
Greece ! May she too soon repose beneath its 
shade, ^ind be enriched with the abundance of its 
fruits. Whatever be her fate, she deserves inde- 
pendence. The splendor of her early renown is 
obscured, in the brighter lustre of her recent a- 
chievementsf. Her noble daring ; her invincible 

3 



1& 



^alor : the blaze of her victories and defeats ; must 
awe the powers of Europe, if it does not arouse 
them, to break the scimitar of the exterminating 
TurE 



I should illy requite the breathless attention of 
this^ crowded audience, were I to weary it with 
details of those facts which compose our history. 
But befbre I close, permit me to add, that as citi- 
zens of New- York W'e have especial cause of grati- 
tude and joy. At the adoption of the federal 
constitution, this state was inferior in political 
power to three members of the confederacy. It 
Was equal only to the fourth. Her population and 
wealth, have long since placed her at the head of 
the Union. The successful application of steam 
to the purposes of navigation, and the construc- 
tion of the Erie and Champlain canals, which 
have illustrated her annals, are events, too im- 
mensely important to our nation, and to the world, 
to pass this day, without honorable mention.— 
These monuments, the glory of our state and of 
the age'; conquering time and annihilating space, 
will remain, while the elements endure, diffusing 
unnumbered blessings to the human race. The 
men whose genius planned ; whose intelligence 
directed ; whose perseverance accomplished them; 
have earfied a most enviable fame. Their name* 



19 

^11 be transmitted to posterity, high on the roll irf 
pMblic benefactors. 

What though our politics have been termed fe^ 
'rocious, and the fluctuations of our parties deri- 
ded ! What though slanders, propagated by some 
in error, by others in design, occasionally assail 
our public men and may for a time diminish confi- 
dence in their talents or integrity ! These partial 
evils, perhaps necessarily incident to our free in- 
stitutions, are but the spots on our sun's disc, 
which unseen, or disregarded, by t^ie myriads \rlio 
rejoice in its light, and are warmed by its beams ; 
substract little or nothing from its matchless ef- 
fijlgence. Rut the public works of ouj* state, 
" her njagnificent metropolis," and flourishing 
villages, " her ever multiplying institutions for 
charity, for science, for the arts, for social im- 
provement." " These," in the language of a liv- 
ing statesman, *' have gone on, are going on, and 
I trust will go on, under all tlie fluctuations of 
her parties, whilst I could name to you States, 
which have always marched to the Polls in ti Ma- 
cedonian Phalanx that have fallen far behind 
New- York, in these great objects of social oroauj- 
^ation." 



.Warriors of the Revolution. "Youareifi 
the midst of posterity." You stand in our ranks, 
the honored survivors of a noble band. Thousands 
of your companions have gone before you to re- 
ceive the patriot's reward. We recognize in you 
the Representatives of departed and of living he- 
roes. The shades of Montgomery and Mercer 
rise to our view. Your memories supply the place 
of many a long lost comrade. Suppress those 
tears. Your silvered locks are crowned with a 
nation's blessing. You, we congratulate, on the 
manifold causes of gratitude and joy which have 
passed before us. To have contributed in your 
measure, to their accomplishment, is distinction e- 
nough to satisfy the highest aspirations of a pat- 
riot's bosom. We rejoice that your lives, and the 
life of him, who in glowing language stated our 
wrongs, and framed that declaration of independ- 
ence so manfully sustained by your youthful valor, 
have been prolonged to see the glory of our coun- 
try, and to honor its Jubilee. Sanguine as were 
the hopes, which in early life marshaled your array, 
and placed you in the front of the battle, no ima- 
gination could then conceive ; no fancy dared then 
portray ; the national prosperity your eyes have 



witnessed. Gathered as you must be, one by 
one, to the great congregation of your companiona 
in arms, you will descend to the tomb sustained 
and encouraged by these consolations ; that 
though man dies his country lives ; that your bod- 
ies, resting from tlieir labors, will repose in aland 
of freedom ; and that your sutferings and achieve- 
ments, will be held in ren^embrance by a grateful 
people, until earthly distinctions shall be lost and 
forgotten, in the brighter glory of celestial existj 
ence. 





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